Marketing analysts break down data to help guide a company's marketing decisions. Discover more about this career field and how to become a marketing analyst.
A marketing analyst is a professional who analyzes data to support a company’s marketing efforts. Marketing analysts use the insights they find to help a company make better business decisions—like increasing revenue or optimizing marketing campaigns. Learn more about the work duties of a marketing analyst and explore tips for getting started in the field.
A marketing analyst works with data to unearth new marketing insights for a company. The two core duties of a marketing analyst include analyzing marketing data and offering recommendations. Find out more about each in the following sections.
A large part of being a marketing analyst includes cleaning, sorting, and interpreting data. More specifically, this can mean:
Gathering, cleaning, and sorting data through methods like surveys or website analysis.
Reviewing marketing campaign results (like revenue increase, reach, or engagement) to improve campaigns
Using tools to understand current customers and find new ones
Researching competitors
By synthesizing findings, marketing analysts can recommend how a business should proceed with its marketing efforts. This can entail putting together reports, presentations, and other materials.
Marketing analysts have much in common with other types of analysts—namely, they all deal with analyzing and understanding data. Consider the following job descriptions for roles similar to a marketing analyst:
Market research analyst: Though sometimes used interchangeably with marketing analyst, many companies consider market research analyst a distinct role. Market research analysts have a more narrow focus than marketing analysts, concentrating specifically on market research. This might mean understanding trends in specific markets or predicting prices, wages, and other economic indicators. Market research analysts can support marketing, product, and other business-oriented teams.
Data analyst: Data analysts have a broader focus than marketing analysts and can work in many fields outside of marketing. They might work in finance, manufacturing, science, government, and many other fields. The exact content they analyze will depend on the field and position. Because data analysts are less specialized than marketing analysts, data analyst positions often require less experience.
Business analyst: Business analysts use data to evaluate an organization’s business and IT processes. They can make recommendations to reduce inefficiencies and costs and identify ways to improve the business structure. They generally don’t work exclusively with marketing data, as marketing analysts may do.
Learn more about different types of careers in marketing and marketing analytics from Anke Audenaert, a marketing professional at Meta.
Becoming a marketing analyst typically involves developing relevant skills, getting related experience, and earning a degree. Explore these three steps in detail.
The four main categories of skills you’ll need to have to become a marketing analyst are:
Data analysis: Data analysis likely means using structured query language (SQL)—a common programming language used to communicate with database systems. You might also find it useful to learn languages like Python or R. Make sure to know the basics of cleaning, sorting, and visualizing data as well.
Marketing: Marketing is a broad subject that can include pricing strategy, social media management, sales analysis, and economic analysis. Knowing your way around marketing strategies will be beneficial.
Project management: Marketing analysts often lead complex efforts to work with data, sometimes across different teams. You won’t need to know the ins and outs of project management, but some experience with starting and leading projects can be helpful.
Artificial intelligence (AI): Thanks to the transformative power of AI and the way it's being implemented across industries, being able to work with Generative AI (GenAI) tools to accelerate your marketing efforts has quickly become an important skill you might consider becoming familiar with.
Whether you’re a beginner or professional, you can gain experience in a variety of ways.
Find an entry-level position. Many marketing analyst positions request that you have several years of experience. Though you won’t always have to meet these “requirements” exactly to get an interview, working in a related position can certainly help. Try looking for entry-level data analysis or marketing positions that will help you learn more skills needed to become a marketing analyst. Titles might include data analyst, marketing associate, sales associate, or social media associate.
Incorporate the skills you need in your current position. Your existing job may allow you to develop new skills and gain valuable experience. Whether working in retail or at a tech company, look for opportunities to use data or learn about marketing. If it makes sense, you can inform your manager that you’re interested in learning new skills to see if they can connect you to relevant tasks.
Take coursework or earn a professional certificate. Completing coursework or professional certificates in skills you might need can show employers you know how to do certain aspects of the job. Try to take courses that will give you the opportunity to complete hands-on projects, so you have something to point to in your resume or interview.
Many marketing analyst positions ask that you have at least a bachelor’s degree and may prefer candidates with master’s degrees. Though some companies are willing to waive degree requirements if you have enough relevant experience, a degree can boost your competitiveness in the job market. Plus, getting a degree can allow you to learn data analysis and other important skills for the job. Consider the following fields for a degree:
Mathematics
Data analytics
Marketing
Computer science
Psychology
Business
A marketing analyst evaluates consumer trends and buying behaviors to support business decisions. Whether you’re in a related position and hoping to switch to marketing analysis or just getting started in your career, gain the technical skills you'll need with the Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate. Learn from industry leaders and practice with industry-relevant projects, all at your own pace.
Glassdoor. “Marketing Analyst Salaries, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/marketing-analyst-salary-SRCH_KO0,17.htm.” Accessed December 12, 2024.
Glassdoor. “Senior Marketing Analyst Salaries, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/senior-marketing-analyst-salary-SRCH_KO0,24.htm.” Accessed December 12, 2024.
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